Jewish Thought and Philosophy

Click here for titles in the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought

An image of the Jewish Universalisms book cover.

Jeremy Fogel

Jewish philosophers in the Enlightenment era.

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Cover of "Dynamic Repetition: History and Messianism in Modern Jewish Thought" by Gilad Sharvit

Gilad Sharvit

A new understanding of modern Jewish theories of messianism across the disciplines of history, theology, and philosophy.

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Cover of "Gershom Scholem: From Berlin to Jerusalem and Back"

Noam Zadoff

A new intellectual portrait of a prominent twentieth-century philosopher.

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Cover of "Toward Nationalism's End: An Intellectual Biography of Hans Kohn"

Adi Gordon

The life and intellectual evolution of Hans Kohn, a pioneer of nationalism studies.

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Cover of "Jewish Philosophical Politics in Germany, 1789–1848"

Sven-Erik Rose

A provocative look at how Jewish intellectuals thought about Jewish religion and existence within a German philosophical tradition.

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Cover of "The Faith of Fallen Jews: Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi and the Writing of Jewish History"

David N. Myers, ed.; Alexander Kaye, editor

Brings together key writings by one of the most distinguished and renowned Jewish historians of our time.

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Cover of "Philosophical Witnessing: The Holocaust as Presence"

Berel Lang

Fascinating philosophical inquiry into post-Holocaust representations of the Holocaust in political theory, ethics, and aesthetics, and an assessment of the limitations and promise of philosophical ‘witnessing’ in relation to those issues.

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Cover of "Between Jew & Arab: The Lost Voice of Simon Rawidowicz"

David N. Myers

An exploration of the fascinating Jewish thinker Simon Rawidowicz and his provocative views on Arab refugees and the fate of Israel.

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Cover of "Memoirs: Hans Jonas"

Christian Wiese, editor; Krishna Winston, translator

Because Jonas’ life spanned the entire 20th century, this memoir provides nuanced pictures of German Jewry during the Weimar Republic, of German Zionism, of the Jewish emigrants in Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s, and of German Jewish émigré intellectuals in New York. In addition, Jonas outlines the development of his work, beginning with his studies under Husserl and Heidegger and extending through his later metaphysical speculations about “God after Auschwitz.”

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Cover of "The Life and Thought of Hans Jonas: Jewish Dimensions"

Christian Wiese

An analysis of the Jewish background of an eminent philosopher.

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Cover of "Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher"

Eugene Sheppard

“With a graceful weave of biography, historical context, and philosophical analysis, Eugene Sheppard presents an intellectual portrait of Leo Strauss that boldly challenges the clichés that becloud his legacy.” —Paul Mendes-Flohr, University of Chicago

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Cover of "Jewish History and Jewish Memory: Essays in Honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi"

Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron and David M. Myers, editors

“This refreshing panorama of the diverse vistas of Jewish history and thought offers students and scholars of Jewish studies valuable new material and fresh insights across a time span from medieval to modern times.” —Shmuel Feiner, Bar Ilan University

Cover of "State of Israel, Diaspora, and Jewish Continuity: Essays on the 'Ever-Dying People'"

Simon Rawidowicz

“Rich in content, a pleasure to read, an encounter with the first-rate mind of a major historian of Jewish intellectual history reflecting on issues that engaged him passionately.” —Arnold Eisen, Stanford University

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Cover of "From Text to Context: The Turn to History in Modern Judaism"

Ismar Schorsch

Essays examining the emergence of Jewish scholarship during the period 1818-1919, concentrating on the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.

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Cover of "Confronting the Nation: Jewish and Western Nationalism"

George L. Mosse

“This collection showcases Mosse’s extraordinary talents as a European intellectual and cultural historian.” —Richard Breitman, American University

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Cover of "The Meaning of Jewish Existence: Theological Essays, 1930-1939"

Alexander Altmann

“This collection of deeply passionate and poignant, learned, and eloquent essays by a young Orthodox rabbi facing the growing Nazi horror is important for historians, philosophers, and theologians.” —Isadore Twersky

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Cover of "The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig"

Paul Mendes-Flohr

Eleven essays on the life and thought of Jewish philosopher and theologian Franz Rosenzweig.

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Cover of "The Jewish Response to German Culture: From Enlightenment to the Second World War"

Jehuda Reinharz and Walter Schatzberg, editors

“A valuable contribution to the continuing flow of studies of German Jews and their relations with the rest of German society in the last two centuries.” —American Historical Review

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